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Reminiscence & Biography of Western
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esty he has gained the confidence and respect of the community
in which he lives.

Mr. Wolf was united in marriage to Miss Ada
Sine in Lodge Pole, Cheyenne county, Nebraska, August 15, 1900.
She is a daughter of Eugene and Mary (Myers) Sine, natives of Iowa
and old settlers of Cheyenne county. To this union two children
have been born, namely: Blanche, aged six years, and Helen, aged
three.

Mr. Wolf is a Republican in political
matters. He has always been prominently identified in matters of
local interest, ever ready to lend a helping hand where needed,
and has gained the respect and esteem of the community in which he
resides, both socially and in business.

He is a member of Golden Fleece Lodge, No.
205, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Chappell, Nebraska,
joining in March, 1900. A portrait of Mr. Wolf will be found on
another page of this volume.

---->o<----

JOSEPH
BARKHURST.

Joseph Barkhurst is the genial
proprietor of a fine ranch of four hundred and eighty acres in Box
Butte county, where he has spent the past twenty years of his
career. This ranch is well unproved with all kinds of good farm
buildings, handsome residence, surrounded by a beautiful lawn and
many trees, and embraces one of the most valuable estates in that
locality. He has made a grand success since coming to this section
and is now numbered among the prominent old settlers and
substantial farmers of the county.

Mr. Barkhurst was born in Harrison county,
Ohio, in 1835. His father was of German descent and his mother of
Welsh stock. During the boyhood of our subject the family lived in
two different counties in Ohio, the father following farming all
his life. Joseph was reared and educated in his native state,
assisting in carrying on the home farm, and as a boy was well
accustomed to doing all kinds of hard farm work, which served him
in good stead during his later struggles as a pioneer in the
western states. When he was about twenty-two years of age he moved
to Missouri and lived there for about two years, and from there
moved to Nebraska, landing in Nebraska City on April 12, 1860, and
there went through pioneer experiences. When he arrived in that
locality he had just twenty-two dollars and fifty cents in cash in
his pocket, and rented a farm for two years, meeting with
admirable success, and then bought a farm of forty acres. He made
good and his hard work and intelligent management brought him
great success in all his undertakings, after once getting a start.
In the fall of 1888 he came to Box Butte county and filed on a
tract of land as a homesteader, locating on what is now his ranch,
situated in section 8, township 25, range 48, six miles from
Alliance. He erected a good residence and added every improvement
in the way of machinery, farm buildings, fences, wells, etc., and
although going through all sorts of hardships, failures of crops
and other disappointments, always managed to raise a small crop,
even when the neighbors around him had lost their all, and he has
steadily forged ahead and accumulated a nice property, attending
strictly to the business of building up his farm and home, and
from the time of his settling on that place up to the time he had
proved up on it, had never spent a night away from home. When he
did prove up he had sixteen thousand growing trees, and no other
man in the county could say that at that time.

Mr. Barkhurst was married to Miss Evaline
Mossman, daughter of James Mossman, a farmer of Coshocton, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Barkhurst are the parents of a family of nine
children, who are named as follows: Sarah E., James M., Annie,
Josephine, Frank T., Lillie M., Charles N., Hattie and Eugene. All
of the children are married and nicely settled in homes of their
own, and our subject is the proud grandfather of several
interesting young folks, and he has three great-grandchildren
living, and all live in Box Butte county, Nebraska.

Mr. Barkhurst is a Republican in political
sentiment, takes a commendable interest in local and county
affairs, and stands firmly for his convictions.

A picture showing several ranch scenes on
Mr. Barkhurst's property will be found on another page.
[Handwritten: Died at Alliance, Mch 14, 1916]

---->o<----

FRANK
DIXON.

Frank Dixon, a well known and
successful farmer residing in Holt precinct, on section 3,
township 34, range 22, is one of the worthy citizens of Keya Paha
county.

Mr. Dixon was born in Passaic county, New
Jersey, March 27, 1856, and is a son of John and Jane (King)
Dixon, the former born in Ireland, coming to America with his
parents when an infant. In 1857 he removed with his family to
Boone county, Illinois, and five years later to Howard county,
Nebraska, where he died in 1894. Our subject is the third member
of his parents' family of six children, all reared

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Reminiscence & Biography of Western
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in Nebraska. where they were among the first whites to settle.
As a boy he assisted his father in the farm work, and in this way
received practical instruction and knowledge of this business, and
afterward chose agriculture as his life work. In 1881 he came to
Keya Paha county, and for the first two years lived on the north
banks of the Niobrara river; they drove to the county with two
yoke of oxen, camping out on the way at night tinder the wagon. He
at once went to work establishing a farm, built a log house and
broke up some land for crops, and remained on the place for two
years. At this time wild game of all kinds was plentiful in the
region, and during 1881 and 1882 Mr. Dixon killed thirty-four deer
on his premises, which furnished a large part of the family
provisions. He moved to his present farm in 1885. his first
dwelling being a sod house, which was later replaced with a more
substantial building. He cultivated part of the land, engaging
from the start quite extensively in stock raising, and on this
account was not so much affected by the dry years as many others
in the vicinity. He now runs about three hundred head of cattle on
his ranch, consisting of one thousand three hundred and twenty
acres, the greater part of which is devoted to hay and pasture. He
has a fine grove of forest trees, and a thrifty young orchard,
making his ranch one of the most valuable properties in the
county.

Mr. Dixon was married in 1886 to Miss Sarah
Eason, a native of Minnesota, daughter of William and Rosa Eason,
old settlers in Brown county. To Mr. and Mrs. Dixon have been born
three children, namely: Elmer, Arthur and Alma, all of whom were
born and reared on their present homestead. The family occupy a
pleasant home and are popular members of the community.

Politically Mr. Dixon is a Republican,
prominent in party affairs, having attended numerous conventions
as a delegate, and many times offered an office, which he would
never consent to accept, preferring a quiet private life to taking
a part in public affairs.

---->o<----

FRANK
ZALESKY.

Frank Zalesky. Jr., who occupies a
prominent place among the younger members of the farming community
of Colton precinct, is one of the early settlers of Cheyenne
county, and is engaged extensively in agricultural pursuits. He
has built up a fine farm, and has gained an enviable reputation as
a citizen and has a host of friends. The subject of this sketch
was born in Bohemia, July 29. 1876, and came to America with his
parents when but one year of age; they sailed from Bremen and
landed at Baltimore, whence they joined relatives in Washington
county. Kansas, where they remained engaged in farming up to 1887.
At that time they moved to Cheyenne county, where they have since
followed farming and ranching. The father, Frank Zalesky, Sr., was
born in Bohemia about 1846, and he settled in Cheyenne county in
1887, taking up a homestead in section 18, township 13. range 47,
and has developed this into a fine ranch, the place consisting of
nine hundred and sixty acres, which he devotes mostly to ranching
purposes, running about seventy-five head of stock. He has a
family of five children, of whom our subject is the eldest member.
Frank, Jr., is proprietor of three hundred and twenty acres of
fine land in section 2, township 13, range 48. where he farms
about fifty acres, and runs fifty head of stock. He is a
progressive, up-to-date agriculturist, has improved a good ranch,
and is counted among tile successful and prosperous men of his
locality.

Our subject has gone through some hard times
since settling in this county, and has met with different serious
accidents, among the most remarkable the following: In 1887, while
attempting to draw water from a new well, the heavy bucket used in
drawing up the water, got beyond his control, the rope caught him
and he plunged headlong and with frightful velocity down the
ninety-foot well. His father, who fortunately was near, descended
as quickly as possible, and when he reached the surface of the
water. only the feet of the boy were visible. He was brought to
the top unconscious and remained so for four days, hovering
between life and death, and for three weeks he was unable to do
any work.

Mr. Zalesky was married to Sophia Jenik, on
August 21, 1900. in Lodgepole precinct. Mrs. Zalesky was born in
Bohemia, on November 20, 1847, coming to the United States with
her parents when a small girl. Three children were born to our
subject, namely: Sophia. Mary and Rosa.

The family have a pleasant home and is
highly esteemed as worthy citizens and good neighbors in their
community. Mr. Zalesky is a man of strong convictions, and
politically is affiliated with the Republican party; he was reared
in the Catholic church. in which all his children have been
baptized.

---->o<----

CHARLES H.
FAULHABER.

A striking example of what may be
accomplished by persistent effort and good management is found in
the life of the gentleman46

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Reminiscence & Biography of Western
Nebraska

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whose name is at the head of this article. For many years Mr.
Faulhaber has resided in section 10, township 27, range 29, and
has gained a valuable estate by his own labors. He is widely known
and universally respected, having been an early settler in Cherry
county.

Charles H. Faulhaber was born in Manitowoc
county, Wisconsin, in 1861. His father, Lewis, was born in Germany
and was a child of two or three years when his parents came to
America. He married Helen Souder, also a native of Germany, who
came to this country at the age of two years. Our subject was
reared in Wisconsin until he was thirteen, then the whole family
came to Nebraska, settling in Lancaster county, and began farming,
they being among the earliest settlers in that section, and the
country was full of Indians and wild game. They went through the
usual pioneer experiences, roughing it, many times camping out,
etc., and had a hard time to get along. but succeeded in building
up a comfortable home in time. In 1886 Charles and a brother came
to Cherry county, driving in by way of Johnstown, at which place
they spent one year, and in the spring of 1887 located on the
present ranch as a homestead. They put up a rough shanty, worked
hard to improve the place, and also worked on the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy railway, which was then being put through
the section, helping build that line into Whitman. Charles
"batched it" for the first four years, and in 1890 was married
Miss Jennie Martin. daughter of Adam Martin, who was an old
settler in Cherry county, coming here in the fall of 1886. Mr.
Martin was one of the most prominent among the pioneers, taking a
leading part in building up the county, and a man of superior
intelligence and attainments. giving his best aid in all affairs
which tended to the good of the locality.

After his marriage, Mr. Faulhaber and his
wife started to make a good home and accumulate a competence for
themselves, and worked hard and faithfully with this end in view,
now being handsomely rewarded for their efforts in now owning a
fine ranch of one thousand five hundred acres. which is situated
three miles northwest of Brownlee. The place is all fenced and
improved with good buildings, including a comfortable house, all
necessary barns, sheds, etc. He has about forty acres cultivated,
and uses the balance as a stock ranch, making a specialty of the
breeding and raising of high grade Hereford cattle. He has a large
herd of registered animals, and the reputation of having the
finest beef cattle in his county.

Mr. Faulhaber's family consists of his wife
and five children, as follows: Roy, born in 1892; Carl, born in
1894; Ruby, born in 1896; Forrest, born in 1903, and Irvie, born
in January, 1907. They are a most happy and congenial family, and
have a pleasant home, surrounded by every comfort and convenience
of rural life, and enjoy a host of friends and acquaintances.

---->o<----

JAMES J.
KINNEY.

James J. Kinney, known throughout
Kimball county as a man of good citizenship and untiring energy,
is a resident of Kimball, where he is held in the highest esteem.
Mr. Kinney is a genuine "old-timer," and in the years he has
resided in this region he has had much to do with the development
of the county, both in a financial and social way. He is one of
the foremost public men, having held numerous county and local
offices, at present serving in the capacity of county attorney.

Mr. Kinney was born in Roscommon county,
Ireland, July 15, 1845, grew up there and came to the United
States with one brother, in 1865, settling at first in Cedar
county, Iowa, coming to Nebraska in 1867, stopping at Paxton for a
few months, then went back to Iowa. He again came to Nebraska,
locating in Kimball county, which was then a part of Cheyenne
county, landing here March 4, 1870. For ten years he was connected
with the Union Pacific Railway Company, and in 1878 engaged in the
ranching and stock raising industry, continuig (sic) the work up
to the present time. He has been running annually from one
thousand five hundred to two thousand cattle on his extensive
ranches, and is one of the most successful men in the county. He
has passed through all the "old" Nebraska times, and has seen the
region grow from a barren prairie to its present prosperous
condition, and in this development he has played an important
part. He has been an extensive shipper for a number of years, and
besides his cattle operations, handles a large bunch of horses,
which he raises for the markets.

Mr. Kinney was united in marriage at
Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1879, to Margaret Fitzpatrick, who was born
and reared in Illinois. They were the parents of two children,
Mary, F. and James J., Jr. The wife and mother died in Kimball
April 23, 1882, her death being deeply regretted by her many
friends who had loved her for her many sterling qualities of heart
and mind. Mr. Kinney married again in 1886 Annie E. Shea, of
Mechanicsville. Iowa, the second Mrs. Kinney being a native of
Rock Island, Illinois, and to them have been born the follow-

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Reminiscence & Biography of Western
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page 715

ing children: Theresa, Catherine, Winifred and Lucile, all at
home, forming a charming family group.

Mr. Kinney is a stanch Democrat. He has been
a member of the board of county commissioners, first elected in
1876. In 1890 he was elected county attorney, and with the
exception of three terms, has served continuously in this capacity
up to the present time. He was president of the Kimball Bank and
principal owner of that institution during the years 1906 to 1908,
in the latter year disposing of considerable of his holdings,
although he is still a member of the board of directors. Our
subject was the organizer of school district No. 3 in old Cheyenne
county, and was connected with the schools in different capacities
for twenty-five years.

---->o<----

ASHLEY B.
COOLEY.

Ashley B. Cooley was born in Vermont
in July, 1829, and was reared in New York, coming to Iowa in the
early days, where he was married. He was a carpenter by trade, but
was possessed of ability in other lines, being employed as a clerk
and also as a school teacher. He came to Nebraska in 1883, and
located his home on section 33, township 21, range 19. He came to
the county in company with V. I. Cram, driving overland from
O'Neil, and was one of the first settlers in this part of Loup
county. Mr. Cooley became one of the leading spirits in the
political affairs of the county and is favorably known and highly
esteemed all over this part of the state. He held the office of
county judge for two terms and established a high reputation as a
man of honor and integrity. Mr. Cooley has a fine farm of three
hundred and twenty acres, thoroughly improved with good buildings.
fences and trees. The Cooliton postoffice was established in 1885
on Mr. Cooley's farm and remained there for eighteen years. The
office is now discontinued and the mail comes via rural free
delivery No. 1, from Walworth, this route being close to the
Cooley farm.

On another page we present some interesting
pictures of the Cooley ranch property.

---->o<----

ALBEY L.
CARTER.

Albey L. Carter looks with pride to
Illinois as his native state, his birth occurring in 1858 in La
Salle county. His parents lived on a farm, his father's name being
Lewis W. and his mother's name Rachel (Wheeler) Carter.

Mr. Albey Carter was reared on a farm, and
there, under good parental training, acquired habits of industry
and thrift that have followed him through all the years. When he
was fourteen years of age, the family moved to Iowa, and settled
in Buena Vista county, and later located on a farm in Sac county.
Albey L. learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for
three years in Iowa, and in 1884 went to Ord, Nebraska, and worked
at his trade there for a year and a half. In 1885 he went to West
Union and opened a shop of his own, which he conducted for two
years, after which he took up a pre-emption claim in Loup county.
He took charge of the fine farm of Ashley B. Cooley, his
father-in-law, an old pioneer settler, in 1905, and has given it a
great deal of attention ever since. A photo of this place appears
elsewhere in this work. Mr. Carter has been prominent in public
affairs and has taken great interest in politics. He has been
school director and for one term held the office of county
commissioner of Loup county.

In Iowa, on the fifth day of August, 1883,
Mr. Carter was married to Miss Ida Cooley, daughter of Ashley B.
Cooley and Jemima (Sheldon) Cooley. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are the
parents of four children -- Zora, Lorin, Lella and Dell, and they
make a most interesting group.

---->o<----

CHARLES
HERRING.

Charles Herring, a prosperous farmer
and stockman of Franklin county, Nebraska, postoffice at
Reamsville, Kansas, settled in this state in 1889, purchasing a
section of land in Franklin township, township 1, range 40, and
still resides on this land, to which he has since added, the place
consisting of one thousand one hundred and twenty acres. Here he
has built up a fine farm and comfortable home, and has aided
materially in the development of this region, becoming well known
as a citizen of sterling character, richly deserving the success
which has come to him as a reward for many years of perseverance
and hard work.

Mr. Herring was born in Baden, near
Constanz, on a farm. In 1879 he settled in Ohio, remaining there
for some years. Our subject worked as a chemist during his young
manhood, being employed in different cities throughout the east
and west up to the time he came to Nebraska. He is well satisfied
with this state as a farming and stock raising country, and he
feeds from forty to fifty cattle and about one hundred hogs each
year, keeping high grade animals only. He owns six hundred acres
of land, and raises from three to

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Reminiscence & Biography of Western
Nebraska

page 716

four thousand bushels of corn each year, averaging twenty-five
to forty bushels per acre, besides two hundred acres of wheat,
which runs from fifteen to twenty-five bushels per acre.

Mr. Herring was married in 1886 at Fort
Wayne, Indiana, to Miss Augusta Langhon, and to them have come the
following children: Alvin, Herbert, George, Hilda, Clarence,
Harold, Ada, Floyd and Charles, Jr.

In 1906 Mr. Herring visited Europe,
traveling through Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland, in the
hope of benefiting his health, and he spent some time at his old
home. He states that conditions there are very had, and hard for
the poor and even the rich men, as a farmer aged twenty-six will
have to work all his life and then be in debt or behind. The taxes
are arranged so that the poor man really pays for the luxuries of
the army and navy officials and rulers of the country. The
legislators and officers in the armies and on the railways are
well paid, receiving from five to six thousand dollars per year
for their services, and are a well-kept and prosperous lot of
people. After these men have served for twenty or twenty-five
years they get a pension of from three to four thousand dollars,
out of which they are not required to pay a cent of taxes, and
this shows that the poor laboring men and the farmers have to
carry the whole burden of keeping up the government, and there is
widespread dissatisfaction under the surface, although the people
dare not say a word, but have to pay the price. The Emperor of
Germany gets a sum of twelve million marks, equal to three million
dollars per year. while the Emperor of Austria receives fourteen
million kronen, or three million five hundred thousand dollars.
The president of France gets a salary of one million dollars (five
million francs), and all these people travel both by land and
water with a retinue of two or three hundred servants to attend
them, and all the money spent so lavishly is ground out of the
poor laborers. A little state covering one-half the area of the
state of Nebraska, with a population of one million five hundred
thousand people supports a standing army of thirty thousand
soldiers, costing in times of peace forty thousand dollars each
day, and in Germany, as all over Europe, this system exists.
Russia being the worst of all countries.

The soldiers are ill-treated in many cases,
and Mr. Herring states that we would not treat dogs as many
officers treat the soldiers in their armies. He has seen an
officer try to show a soldier how to take a cartridge out of a
gun, and would push the gun on his shoulder with such force that
it would knock the man over, and the conditions there are so bad
that it would be impossible for an American to have a correct idea
of the state of affairs which exist in that country. Mr. Herring's
father, Ulrich Herring, served for seven years in the army, so he
knows whereof he speaks when he tells of the hardships of the
middle class in the old country. In big cities in Europe reform
movements are gaining many recruits, and the people hope for
better things before many years, although it may be a long time,
as the army and capital have the people so thoroughly in
subjection that they have to exercise the utmost caution and
secrecy in any movement which is meant for the uplift of the
masses.

Mr. Herring received a good education in
Germany, finishing in the public schools, and afterwards took a
full course in chemistry at the Worms Chemical School, and also
attended the academy at Valparaiso, Indiana, for two years.

He is a man who has made the most of his
opportunities, and is a thoroughly posted, up-to-date gentleman,
and possesses a striking personality, universally esteemed by his
fellowmen. He is a regular correspondent for the English and
German papers in his locality, touching on subjects along the
reform lines and especially labor problems, and handles his
subjects in a masterly manner. He is an Independent voter, always
standing for the best man. He is a member of the Lutheran church,
and one of its earnest supporters.

---->o<----

JOHN S.
HUGHES,
DECEASED.

John S. Hughes, deceased, who was one
of the early settlers of Dawes county, and a man who will always
be remembered for his kindly hospitality, was born on a farm in
North Wales in 1846. His parents were natives of England.

Mr. Hughes spent the early years of his life
in England, where he received his education, working in the mines
as he grew into manhood. At the age of twenty-one years he came to
America, landed in New York, came west to Wisconsin and located
with a Welsh colony, working in the lead mines. After a time he
went west into Colorado, where he worked in the gold mines at
Colorado Springs. In the year 1880 he came to Dawes county,
driving from Sidney, and located on the Niobrara river, about
three miles vest of Marsland. Here he opened a road ranch,
conducting a

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Reminiscence & Biography of Western
Nebraska

page 717

general store, saloon and hotel, and serving as postmaster. His
building, which was twenty by one hundred feet, was amply fitted
for the needs of the people. This was a stage station. Here he
built up an extensive business, was prosperous, and achieved the
success justly due his upright and honorable business methods. His
place was the scene of many of the exciting times so well known to
the pioneers of this western country.

Our subject lived in Crawford for a short
time, but in 1901 moved to Marsland. He erected additional
buildings on his ranch, which contained an area of two thousand
acres, and dealt extensively in live stock.

In 1903 Mr. Hughes was united in marriage to
Mary Lemon, daughter of Lewis and Elizabeth (Galvith) Lemon. Mrs.
Hughes was reared in Dawes county, her father having settled here
in 1887.

In the month of May, 1904, Mr. Hughes passed
away, leaving to the care of his beloved wife three children, viz:
John, Helen and Thomas. Surely a work of this kind would be sadly
deficient if a sketch of his life did not appear in its pages.
During the period of his life which was spent in Dawes county, he
proved himself a man, in every way worthy of the high esteem in
which he was held. He was a public-spirited citizen, one who took
an active interest in the development and improvement of the
county, and when he died he left behind him a host of warm friends
who will ever honor his memory.

---->o<----

JOHN C.
McNARE.

The history of the upbuilding of
America has been one of startling successes. From the early days,
when the Pilgrims first landed upon its shores, up to the present
day, the greatest success has attended the efforts of ambitious
men, and the early settlers in the western states have furnished
some splendid examples, among whom is the gentleman whose name
heads this review. Mr. McNare is a native of West Virginia, born
January 17, 1861, near Bruceton Mills, Preston county. He is a son
of Andrew McNare and Jennina (Walls) of Scotch-Irish descent. The
father, by occupation a farmer, visited his son in Nebraska in
1905, and was much impressed by the wonderful opportunities to be
found in this section of the country. Our subject was reared and
educated within three miles of his birthplace, and struck out for
himself on reaching the age of twenty-four years, following farm
work in his native state.

Mr. McNare first came to Nebraska in April,
1885, locating five and a half miles west of Valentine, which was
then the terminus of the railroad at that time. He went to work
improving his farm at once, and put up a sod house and other farm
buildings. His start consisted of a yoke of oxen and a few
chickens, a small beginning from which his latter success has
grown. The dry years soon came on. He lost successive crops and
was unable to make any apparent headway, so sold out and purchased
his present home in section 26, township 32, range 26, and began
over again. Here he has added to his original holdings until he
has a place consisting of two thousand three hundred and sixty
acres, mostly hay and pasture land and engages principally in
stock raising, keeping at times as high as one thousand one
hundred head of cattle and a hundred horses. He has a complete set
of ranch buildings, house, barn, mill, tanks, etc., on section 14.
The home place consists of a fine ten-room house with baths and
running water, supplied by an elevated cistern reservoir, the
first of its kind in this region. There are six never failing
wells on the ranch, varying from thirty-six to a hundred feet
deep.

January 21, 1883, Mr. McNare was married to
Miss Virginia Yeast at Brandonville, West Virginia, a native of
Maryland, but a few rods from where three state boundaries meet.
They were reared within a mile of each other. She is a daughter of
William and Martha E. (Deak) Yeast. Eleven children have been born
of this marriage, namely: Arthur E., Herbert C., Robert G.,
Estella B., Charles G., William C., Violet Mabel, Edith M., Vern
L., Hazel B. and Jennie May, the two elder born in West Virginia
and all reared in Cherry county.

The family was one of the earliest settlers
in this region, there being few neighbors and far between at the
time of Mr. McNare's advent to Cherry county. Mr. McNare, a
Democrat politically, has always taken a deep interest in local
affairs tending toward the development of his locality, and has
held different school offices in his district. He is a member of
Camp No. 2947, Modern Woodmen of America, at Wood Lake.

A view of the family residence, with
portraits of Mr. and Mrs. McNare, is to be found on another page
of this work.

---->o<----

THOMAS C.
LEWIS.

Thomas C. Lewis, a highly respected
farmer of township 33, range 57, in Sioux county, Nebraska, has a
pleasant home and good farm there, which he has gained through
thrift

Compendium of History
Reminiscence & Biography of Western
Nebraska

page 718

and industrious effort. He is an energetic agriculturist,
progressive, and an able representative of the farming community
of his county.

Mr. Lewis was born in Audubon county, Iowa,
in 1869, on his father's farm. The latter, Thomas also, was of
American birth, a well-known farmer and attorney of that locality,
and was county judge, elected to that office when Audubon county
was organized. He married Josephine Kaylor, and they lived for
many years in Iowa, our subject growing up there, attending the
country schools and following farm work during his young manhood.
When he was seventeen years of age he came to Sioux county,
Chadron at that time being the nearest railroad point. He was
employed on ranches in that locality, also in Wyoming, and led a
regular frontier life, roughing it for a number of years and
following the career of a cowboy up to 1892, riding all over the
western part of Nebraska and into adjoining states. In the latter
year he settled on a homestead which he now occupies, located in
section 4, township 33, range 57, which was an entirely unimproved
tract, and he has built up a good farm and home. The place is
situated on Antelope creek, and he has it all fenced, supplied
with good buildings, etc. He is engaged almost exclusively in
stock raising, and making a great success of the business. Of late
years he has also gone into the grain raising business quite
extensively, his oat crop this year, which is very fine, will go
sixty to seventy-five bushels to the acre.

Mr. Lewis was married in 1892 to Theresa
Thomas, daughter of Samuel Thomas, whose sketch appears in this
volume, and he is one of the oldest settlers in Sioux county, Mrs.
Lewis having been raised here. Two children have been born to
them, namely: Thomas Lee, born in 1895, and Albert Wilton, born in
1897.

Mr. Lewis is Independent in politics, and
lends his influence for good government. He takes an active part
in local affairs, and has served his precinct in different
capacities. The year that he located in this county was that of
the organization of the region as Sioux county, and he has
assisted materially in its development ever since.

---->o<----

C. A.
PETERSON.

Among the old settlers of Anderson
township. Phelps county, Nebraska. recognized as an enterprising
and public-spirited citizen, a foremost place is accorded C. A.
Peterson, the subject of this review.

Mr. Peterson is a native of Sweden, and came
to Phelps county in 1879 with his father, Anthony Peterson, the
latter taking a homestead in Lake township, our subject locating
in Anderson township, where he now resides. He began farming this
at once, and soon afterwards bought one hundred and sixty acres of
land adjoining, also three hundred and twenty acres in the next
section north of his farm. To all this he added another eighty
acres, so he is now the possessor of a farm of seven hundred and
twenty acres, and with his brother, N. Peterson, has an equal
interest in three hundred and twenty acres located in Centre
township. He purchased all of this land during the years from 1879
to 1904, and all he is now worth was made since coming to this
state. Before coming to Nebraska he farmed for a time in Mercer
county, Illinois, but was not satisfied with conditions there, and
thinks that Nebraska is the only state for a poor man. While
running his farm he engaged in stock raising to some extent in
addition to cultivating a good portion of his land, and was
successful in both ventures. He raised pure bred Polled Angus
cattle, and prefers them to any other breed for western Nebraska.
He also raised a large number of hogs, and found this a very
profitable line of work, as they can be raised for comparatively
little, and mature quickly, always bringing fair prices on the
market.

Mr. Peterson's father died in 1901, aged
seventy years, leaving an estate including seven hundred and
twenty acres of land, all of which was good fertile soil. He is
not at present actively engaged in running his farms, but rents
the land out and derives a comfortable income in this manner.

He was married in 1878 to Miss Louisa
Anderson, who was also born in Sweden, and they have three
children - Amanda, Sadie and Clarence.

Mr. Peterson has held the office of
supervisor of district No. 1, Anderson township, and was a member
of the county board of Phelps county. for Anderson, Divide and
Cottonwood townships. He has been clerk and treasurer for Anderson
township, holding each office for several terms. He also takes an
active part in educational matters in his district, and has been a
member of the school board for a long time past. Politically he is
a RepubIican.

---->o<----

HENRY C.
BRANDEL.

Henry C. Brandel, a prominent resident
of Brown county, Nebraska, is a man of successful endeavor and one
of the substantial farm-

Compendium of History
Reminiscence & Biography of Western
Nebraska

page 719

ers and favorably known citizens of this locality.

Mr. Brandel was born in the city of
Sandusky, Ohio, August 9, 1869. His father, Jacob Brandel, was a
mason by trade, a native of Germany, who came to the United States
at the age of twenty-two. After living at Sandusky for a number of
years, he removed to Independence, Iowa, in the spring of 1871,
where he lived until coming to Nebraska in 1884. He died in 1891,
leaving a wife and two children, of whom our subject is the elder.
The family settled in Brown county when he was a lad of sixteen,
purchasing the homestead on which they now live, located in
section 12, township 31, range 23. This homestead proof was
cancelled by the government and they were finally compelled to
file homestead papers and prove up on it, after having paid one
man for the land. Their start was on a very small scale when they
landed here, beginning with one horse, two heifers and a few
chickens, which constituted the support of the family. During the
first two years they lived in a small log house, which was rather
close quarters, but they soon built a comfortable dwelling out of
native lumber, adding a granary and other buildings gradually. The
farm was steadily improved, but the family met with hardships and
suffered much privation through the drouth periods and grasshopper
raids, which put them back considerably in their work of building
up their home. However, this was the usual experience of the
settlers in this region and no more than could have been looked
for, and they did not give up hope. A great deal of time was spent
in hauling posts, timber and smaller wood from the land which was
sold to help keep up expenses. In 1894, shortly after the death of
his father, our subject went to Brownlee, a distance of sixty to
seventy miles, where he worked in the hay fields, in this way
being able to add quite a nice little sum to the store they saved
to keep them through the hard times, still living on his father's
farm and improving it. This farm now contains four hundred acres
of land, all fenced, one hundred and eighty acres being under
cultivation.

In 1894 Mr. Brandel was married to Miss
Katie Haas, a native of Ross county, Ohio, whose father, George B.
Haas, is a farmer of German descent, and one of the old-timers of
Brown county, coming in 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Brandel have a family
of four children, namely: Sylvia M., George H.. Howard W. and
Selma F. Politically Mr. Brandel is a Democrat, always awake to
the better interests of the locality in which he chose his
home.

---->o<----

AUGUSTINE
H. McLAUGHLIN.

Augustine H. McLaughlin, residing in
section 10, township 28, range 52, Box Butte county, is one of the
substantial farmers and worthy citizens of that county. He is one
of the pioneers of the region, having located here before Box
Butte was organized as a county, and is familiar with every
incident connected with its development and growth, and has
himself materially assisted in its advancement and progress.

Mr. McLaughlin was born in Westmoreland
county, Pennsylvania, March 11, 1846. His father, Thomas
McLaughlin, was a blacksmith by trade, and was a pioneer in Iowa
county, Iowa. Both parents of our subject were natives of
Pennsylvania, and came to Iowa in 1856, where Augustine was reared
and educated. He enlisted in the Eighteenth Iowa Infantry. Company
I, in 1862, and saw service in the southwest, going through
Arkansas, Missouri and Texas with his company, and although in a
number of engagements was only slightly wounded.

He returned to Iowa after being discharged
from the army, and in 1867 went to Denver where he followed
freighting from Cheyenne through the mountains, also from Denver
to Mexico, and from Sidney, Nebraska, into the Black Hills and Ft.
Pierre to Deadwood.

In the summer of 1875 Mr. McLaughlin and a
party of ten others went into the Black Hills on a prospecting
trip, and remained there until they were ordered out by the
government troops. The expenses of that trip was two hundred
dollars for each man, and when they came to settle up and divide
their spoils, found that he had only one dollar and twenty cents
coining to him as his share from the gold they found. During those
years he was all over this part of the west, and many times had
encounters with the Indians.

In the fall of 1882 our subject came to Box
Butte county, settling on a homestead in section 10, township 28,
range 52, and there started a ranch. He first put up a rude shanty
and went to work breaking up his land, and improving the place.
His intention was to found a good ranch and home, and to that end
he kept steadily at the work, and has since remained there
constantly except during three years which were spent at Grand
Island, Nebraska. He was one of the early assessors in the
section, when this was all Cheyenne county, and at the time Dawes
county was organized he was elected one of the county
commissioners and helped organize the county. He also helped to
organize Box Butte county,